Con Ed Blames Sky-High Bills On 'Lower Than Normal Temperatures'

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — This month, Con Edison customers were shocked to find that their utility bills had doubled, tripled or increased even more, but the utility company said they want to help with payment plans and assistance for low income customers.

"We understand that many of our customers have experienced recent bill increases," Con Edison said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "Current global events, coupled with increased energy consumption due to lower than normal temperatures have had impacts on natural gas and electricity costs. While Con Edison doesn’t generate electricity and can’t control the cost, we know that increases may cause concern. We’re currently offering payment plan options and implementing sustainable solutions to shift our dependence away from natural gas and its volatility."

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A Con Edison spokesperson told Patch's Matt Troutman this week that the increase comes down to rising costs for natural gas, which is used to create electricity in the utility's plants.

"Con Edison does not make a profit on the commodity," the spokesperson said. "We buy the energy on the wholesale market and provide it to customers at the same price we paid. Energy prices are volatile and can be affected by factors such as weather, demand, and economic trends."

Elected officials, however, are calling for increased oversight of Con Edison and other utilities in the wake of outrage over the more than 300 percent rise in some utility bills.

"It is simply wrong for a utility company to issue bills that include considerable increases for customer service without an advance warning or satisfactory explanation of what’s going on," New York State Senator Pete Harckham said in statement released on Wednesday. “Where’s the transparency? These massive bills are distressing customers to no end. With all of the ways in which a utility can communicate to its customers, there is no excuse to stun and agitate people with these kinds of increases."

Meanwhile, New York State Assembly member Emily Gallagher wrote on social media that her office fielded nearly a dozen calls about Con Ed bills.

"A cold winter, a surge in demand, tensions with Russia: all impact the price of natural gas," she tweeted. "And while many of these forces are outside of ConEd's control, they should have been better prepared and more transparent with customers."

Harckham took his demands a step further.

"It’s time to make the information on the energy bill for New York residents crystal clear, and the best options that are available for people, say, on fixed incomes, made wholly understandable to all," Harckham said. "This has to be an elemental requirement that is part of customer rights when it comes to utility providers."

While the utility said the recent steep rise in utility bills is largely out of their hands, the company said it wants to help. The company said a number of payment plans, extension options and public assistance programs are available to help those unprepared by the sudden jump in their gas and electric bills.